You're Kidding Right?
by Room.Shambles
Summary: My OC, not sure of what's going on; only certain that childhood dreams await. Before Shabondy. Slight AU, T because of swearing, friendship!OCXLaw, later on romantic pairing between the two. First fic, so review please! First chapter a little confusing, the story gets better as chapters progress, promise!
1. Remember Me?

You're kidding…Right?

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**A/N:**

**Shambles: Ciaossu! thanks for reading You're kidding Right? Now the disclaimer!*prods Law***

**Law:... One Piece is in no way Shamble's, it belongs to Oda... *walks away***

**Shambles: Thanks Law... Now on with the story!**

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"_Your kidding…Right?" Thoughts or whispers_

"Your kidding…Right?" Speech

Hi! My name is Aria Steed I'm seventeen, (Ex-) Vice-president of the Eastglade (NorthSea) anime club, take (well took) weapons training along with lion dancing, is a total anime nerd (Love One Piece... not anymore, it's better in real life), and am the neighbor to a sadistic, insomniac teen who has a pet( he's a friend) polar bear. Wait…that last part seems just a _little_ odd, don't you think?

Aria's P.o.v

It was a fine cold winter afternoon in the little North Blue island Vancouver BC, after taking my simple Jett mountain bike out for a after-lunch ride; I duly noticed that the quaint, some what old styled bungalow that was our neighboring dwelling; had a rather annoyingly large and noisy moving truck parked outside with all manner of crates and boxes stacked in haphazard piles in and around the general vicinity.

"_Well, seems that we got a new neighbor, hope that they last longer than the old ones…"_

"Hey, your our neighbor right?" A smooth baritone voice interrupted my musing, looking toward the source of the distraction I came to face with a slim and wiry teen about my age with a dark skin tone, and storm grey eyes.

"My name is Trafalgar Law, a pleasure to make your acquaintance; and you are?"

_"Whoa. This guy's got the same name as my favorite anime character!"_ Of course I didn't voice that thought, really I don't think strangers appreciate it when a person they just met compares them to a fictional character.

"The name's Aria Steed, and I hope that you'll like the neighborhood… Are you going to attend one of the schools here?" Finding out this seemed normal for a high school student right? Besides he seemed really interesting, he was quiet yet seemed to exhume this aura of control around him.

" _Just like Law in the anime…what's going on here?" _

"We'll see I seem to have forgotten for now." And with that, he just sauntered off with a halfhearted wave and a smirk that just looked it belonged on his face.

***At Night** *

Laying there on my bed I mentally cursed that I didn't try harder to figure out more about the enigmatic new neighbor of mine.

" _At least I got his name, Trafalgar Law…what a interesting guy. Does he like anime or something he looks just like Law!"_

Done with my reflection on the conversation that took place today I silently reviewed the schedule for tomorrow.

" _Anime club meeting,_ _classes, s*** science test, lion dancing…"_

Next morning was a pretty regular routine, wake up around six forty-five, brush teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, and walk to school at around seven thirty The meeting for our anime club ran along schedule, but I was really surprised that no one mentioned for our fundraiser we were dressing up as One Piece characters…(It was a idea to gather more funds since we're responsible for our own clubs finances.)

After that classes started up at around quarter to nine. Making my way to homeroom I heard a snippet of gossip off of a couple of the drama club members.

_" Hey! Did you notice the new transfer student?"_

_" I know right? Totally eye candy right there!"_

"_Really? I personally don't see anything in him, he's just a student like us you know…"_

Rolling my eyes I reach the classroom door and made my way to my window seat desk, cracked open a volume of Kuro Hana (Came up with this on the spot...sorry if actually real) manga and waited for the homeroom teacher to walk in.

In her rather nasally voice she quickly asked us to quiet down "Class _if_ you would be so kind to pay attention, I would like to introduce the new transfer student to Northsea High."

_" Northsea? Is the teacher starting to crack already? We're only into the first semester of school."_ However it seemed that no one noticed or corrected the blatant mistake.

" Please welcome Trafalgar Law to our class, Law why don't you say something about yourself?"

" Hello, My name is Trafalgar Law, I enjoy studying biology and Stormy weather." Girls twittered like rabid songbirds as his voice flowed around the room, probably thinking some new eye candy just registered at our school.

…Shock…then a mild trickle of annoyance, why didn't the guy just tell me he was going to Northsea high?

_" Wait, why am I referring to Eastglade as Northsea? Well then again, why is MY life the one that gets messed up?"_

Walking by my desk on his way to his seat a quiet sentence reached my ears, so soft I nearly dismissed the sound.

"I'm a little hurt you don't remember Aria-ya, has it really been so long?"

***Later After School***

During my lion dance session I just felt a little… off while we were practicing I felt light headed and weak. At home I just collapsed on top of my bed and was soon sucked into a myriad of vivid dreams… or were they memories? I couldn't tell the difference.

**-12 years ago-**

I was young, around the age of five my best friend in the whole world at the time; Trafalgar Law, were playing in some of the cold snow drifts that built up in the long winter months there in the North Blue.

"_Hey Law! Look at these huge icicles!"_

_He of course was scowling at the dull grey clouds until a lopsided snowball smacked into his face, groaning he sent a childish glare in the girl's general direction before stooping to vent his revenge with a snowball back at her._

" _Would you knock it off Aria-ya? We were supposed to sneak out to feed Bepo some fish we stole from the fisherman then head to school…"_

_" But Law you should have better reflexes if your gonna be the Heart Pirates' captain!"_

_I dreamed, remembered that this used to be a common occurrence and that we never thought that it would end so suddenly._

_A door slamming shut._

_Sailing to another island._

_ Growing up and becoming "normal"._

_ Forgetting our promise to sail the seas, free as the wind._

_Losing my best friends in mere days._

***Present Time***

Gasping I woke up and the input of how One Piece was real and my forgotten past with Law was too much for my poor, ragged mind to comprehend at the time.

_"Damn… Was all that real? I …I remember being with Law as a kid, playing and planning for the future. Was my life up 'til now just a facade And then why was One Piece a manga and anime? And why is Law in the anime... I can't really remember the story anymore though. Dammit I have to fix this mess, one thing I'm aware of now is that the Heart pirates WILL sail and conquer the grand line." _I suddenly think of how Law said that he was hurt I had forgotten about our childhood...

"Uwah! I have to go talk to Law tomorrow and tell him I remember!"

I quickly planned to tell him in the morning as we walked to school and make amends for forgetting, hoping Law could help me out with this dilemma.

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**Hi! Thanks for reading YKR till the end of the first chapter! Sorry, but the story line is going to be a little dull as Aria tries to figure what in the name Gold Rogers is going on... I promise that the later chapters will be better, writing quality and story line! Also please review, I want to know if anyone likes the story.**

**P.S: I know that this chapter is as weird as a green skinny hippo, the plot will make more sense in the next chapter.**

**~Domo Arigato~**


	2. Nightmare or Memory

**A/N: Hi! Sorry for the ridiculously late update. I realized that the last chapter was a little confusing, I hope that this one can clear things up a bit.**

**Also 'cause I didn't add a discription of Aria in the last chapter, this is a general discription. Black hair, brown eyes, 5"11 in height(yeah.. she's really tall) usually wears red t-shirts with grey flame patterns around the left side and dark wash jeans with a black sweater tied around her waist, is relatively flat chested and moderatly toned for a teenage girl.**

**Aria: Diclaimer time, now then would you do the honors Bepo?**

**Bepo: I'm sorry... Shambles does not own One Piece or any of the characters mentioned in this Fanfic except Aria...**

**Aria: too cute ne?**

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Nightmare or Memory

"Your kidding…Right?" Thoughts or whispers

"Your kidding…Right?" Speech

Aria's P.o.v

The next morning was to say, tense. The bright sunshine that filtered through my cream colored curtains begged to differ, I suppose it didn't seem to care that I was beside myself with anticipation. As I got ready for the school day I couldn't seem to concentrate on the tasks at hand. I quietly slipped through the door and spotted Law already down the street. As I walked towards him I noticed that instead of the only slightly chilly air that we were used to in Vancouver, was replaced by the frigid wind of what I assume was the North Blue.

" Oh god… Do I just go up to him and tell him I remember? …That's more than a little awkward…"

Quickly catching up to him I called out a rather timid greeting.

" Hey… Law?"

Looking up from the… medical textbook? He was reading, he slowed his pace a little.

" Hm~ Good morning Aria-ya."

" Hey Law… I guess… I can say I remember everything now, but I'm still confused to why before you "moved" next door I didn't remember anything…"

Silence reigned, thick with apprehension. Until a smirk slowly made itself known on Law's lips.

" …I'm glad, it was getting a bit quiet with just Bepo you know."

And just like that I found myself walking alongside him, one of his arms slung around my shoulders just like when we were kids.

" That still didn't answer my question about why I don't reme…"

Trafalgar Law can read_ minds_. He always seemed to know when I was questioning something, even when we were younger.

" Oh yeah, Aria after a … incident when your parents discovered us sneaking off to take care of Bepo, you moved to British Columbia; a little self sustaining, advanced isle that didn't know a thing about the outside world. As for the anime you apparently love… One Piece I think it might have been your parents trying to make you forget about our world and dreams of becoming free pirates.

Nearing the school we received a couple, scratch that a LOT of looks and glares (Mostly from the 60% plus female population of North Sea high.) As for the rest of the school day it didn't really suck too bad, Law and I had most of our classes' together so when sitting besides each other we would discuss what I had forgotten and/or missed out on in the time I had spent in British Columbia growing up.

***Later that night***

The faint glow of the alabaster moon did nothing to help me with my reflection on today and the events that would surely follow.

" Here I am again, lying in my bed trying to sort out the mess called my life. Law filled me in on what happened after I left, but d**n I wish I could have been there. Bepo grew… heh no surprise there, he is a polar bear after all. And Doflamingo…I wish I could pound his face in for what he did to Law after I disappeared…"

Sighing into my poor, scream abused pillow I slowly drifted off to a light slumber, however it seemed that a peaceful nights rest would elude me, again.

***Dreamscape***

Darkness, shadows, the overwhelming knowledge that I was helpless; that was all I could sense in this empty void.

"Damn it! What the heck is going on here! The dark is just…"

A hand covered my face while a sad chuckle rang through the empty space that was my prison.

"Don't you worry dear… I'm just going to make you forget everything about the outside world, it won't hurt…"

The void seemed to lighten and take the form of a clean white room; strapped to a chair I couldn't do anything about my predicament. Not knowing what to do I merely tried to keep calm, well as calm a six-year-old little girl could be at the time.

"Much…"

…There went that miniscule amount of composure.

A few moments after those words pain overrode all of my senses. White hot, stabbing pain lanced through my body leaving me unable to even scream. Until I simply faded into the darkness.

***Reality***

A scream ripped it's way through the cool, still night due to my wide-open bedroom window. Immediately waking the occupants of the house next door, mainly one Trafalgar Law. The sound of a door slamming shut echoed through the just stilling air, accompanied by the faint muttering of "Room" to which a pajama clad Law appeared, apparently popping out of thin air, into my home.

"Aria-ya! Are you alright?" he started to say until he took in my shivering and frightened form.

Trying to crack a smile at him a replied to his partially asked question.

"…. You think I look all right Law? I just woke up from one of the worst dreams in ten years." My sore attempt at sarcasm had done nothing to alleviate the worry apparent in Law's eyes.

Without another word he had drawn me into surprisingly warm hug. Slightly muffled by my shoulder and hair he simply stated.

" Don't try sarcasm Aria, you frankly don't have a great sense of humor."

…That had effectively ruined the warm fuzzy mood he had created.

The next day I looked no worse for wear unless you had noticed the slight bags under my eyes. Law had offered to crash in one of the spare bedrooms if I continued to have those nightmares. Sweet of him right? At least if had a nightmare my best friend could wake me up from it…

Since we were in twelfth grade and about to graduate, Law and I had decided to finish school and then leave the island on his ship so we wouldn't draw attention to our selves like we would if we left then and there. As soon as the summer hit we would hit the sea, pick up Bepo from a nearby island and gather a crew to enter the Grandline.

Entering the hallways North Sea high (aptly named after the North Blue that the citizens weren't aware of) I had hoped I would have been able to keep a low profile for the rest of the year, of course I had no such luck. Walking to my third period class I was stopped by a screeching female.

" Hey you! Nerd with the black hair!"

That, is never a good sign if this happens in our school. Turning around I came face to face with one of the popular "rulers" of the school and her mindless cronies. Sending a heated glare she looked me up and down before scoffing.

" What's going on between you and the new guy?! Last time I checked you two weren't even talking, now you look like a lovesick couple! Back off, dweeb or else you'll end up heart broken when he finds some one with class."

A snob plus me on the edge of going insane with lack of sleep and stress equals a very crabby me..

" Well me and my childhood friend were catching up on old times, so I don't think I'll end up with a broken heart if I'm not dating anyone right? So do you mind, I've got to get to class."

With that I walked off to my class.

" Guess hanging around Law has made me quite a few enemies of the females in our school. I really wish the year would end soon, so we could head out to sea."

With around five more months of school left I highly doubted that we would leave school in peace to begin our lives as pirates of the heart.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next chapter will be a tad more exciting when Aria and Law graduate(Not that they really need to) and hit the seas, gathering thier crew Bepo should also be joining them. They should hit the grand line in about chapter six of seven.****Law won't get his tattoos until later 'cause it wouldn't make sense for a teenager to have tattoos that spell "death". I also created a OC villan so I could bridge the gap between my some what AU world and the OnePieceverse, I don't think it made it weird...**

**Again, hope you liked the chapter! And please review! I have no idea if Law is in character, if I made mistakes in the plot or if it reads plain awkward... I now understand why authors beg for reviews, you really want to hear your reader's opinions on your writing. Hope to see you in the next chapter. Ciao~**


	3. Sailing To a Future

**A/N: Hello! Hope you enjoy this new chapter of YKR! It's going to get a little more exciting after this chapter, so please continue to read!**

**Over 3000 word! longest chapter I've ever written~**

**Aria: Anyways time for the disclaimer! How 'bout we have... Penguin do it this time?**

**Penguin: ... I'm not in the story yet...**

**Shambles: Next chapter, now the disclaimer please!**

**Penguin: Nothing belongs to Shambles, except for Aria-san.**

**All: Enjoy the chapter! **

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"Your kidding…Right?" Thoughts or whispers

"Your kidding…Right?" Speech

Aria's P.o.v

A crisp March breeze silently whirled into the empty senior high chemistry lab from a window accidentally left open; abandoned by the students that usually inhabited the scholarly building. Spring break was upon the little island that was in complete isolation, and frankly didn't exist to the outside world. However in three months time Law and I would be setting sail for the Grandline leaving the little pirate free paradise along with our faithful childhood companion Bepo.

Spring break. It was supposed to be a time for relaxation from the once again busy school year, three months ago I would have thought to catch up on some novels or hang out with my lion dance squad, I didn't think I would be spending time with Law at the library researching new medical procedures.

" People are staring at all these books. This, is more than a little weird… even though Law was interested in being a surgeon when we were young…" I was musing on how little seven years old Law and seventeen year old Law differed when cracking open a textbook. " …ria , Aria. Do you mind passing me that tome with the section about the effects of different nerve gasses on the cerebrum?"

"… Law, speak English I barely passed biology." Yeah… not to great with the subject my best friend practically worships. Of course Law looks at me like I'm a crazy, figure that he expects that everyone should know the medical terms that he throws around so nonchalantly.

" We'll just have to fix that then, read this book cover to cover." Have I mentioned how highly he thinks of medical knowledge?

That was how the entirety of our spring break was spent. The next month was spent fairly normal with us going about our daily lives, all the while Law and I were preparing for the day we would leave these tranquil shores to explore the seas ahead as pirates with the ultimate task in front of them, of course we weren't exactly fitting the image of giant hulking oafs who terrorized little children and defensless citizens that the marines painted all pirates as.

"Aria-ya you can't dance, your stepping on my foot." Take this as an example; we can act like _normal_ people from time to time, since there was less than a month left until graduation our teachers had decided to swap out physical education with lessons in formal dance. Hence Law, being the naturally poised and coordinated person he is had no problem with the waltz, me? Not so lucky even though I was pretty well balanced…

" Sorry Law, but just bear with it we'll most likely not be dancing at the graduation anyways. Besides when did you learn to dance? You're a pirate not a choreographer." Well, you had to question how he didn't manage to trip up when this was apparently his first time dancing.

" Hm, I guess I'm just talented." … I seriously wanted to wipe that smirk off of his face. Unfortunately for me we had lessons like this until the last two weeks of school. Law was overjoyed because he had time to make cracks about my lack of dancing skills, I on the other hand as pissed that Law now had a chance nearly every day to purposely make me feel like a elephant in a china shop.

*** Two Weeks Before the Graduation * **

The day was a Monday and we had finally finished the mandatory dance lesson, I was so relieved I actually went up to Law and gave him a joyful hug; I haven't done that since we were children. His reaction was priceless! Law had immediately stiffened up and squirmed around trying to get out of the rather tight embrace.

" I totally forgot that Law didn't really like getting hugged… oh well he deserves it after putting me through that footwork hell."

" Aria, could you let me go? You know I don't like hugs." Of course he then continued to wriggle around trying to get out of the uncomfortable (for him) squeeze. After a couple more moments I let go of the poor Law. The rest of the day went pretty well with martial arts practice and classes going off without a hitch. That night however it seemed that the short peaceful lull before us embarking on our adventure was not to last.

Going home I fell into bed exhausted yet still awake, so I was left in bed hoping to at least a couple hours of sleep. Me lying in my bed thinking seem to be pretty common no? While I was (again) pondering the events that had occurred in the past few months, reestablishing the friendship that I had with Law and the going ons of the world outside of this North Blue paradise. When I was finally drifting off to sleep I noticed a flicker in the shadows out of the corner of my eye, dismissing it I drifted off to a uneasy slumber.

***Dreamscape***

Stuck in a pure white room. Strapped to a ridged backed chair. A disembodied voice echoing throughout the area.

"_Hello again dear~ did you miss good ole __Dad__?" Again that man, the one who seemed to take so much perverse pleasure in seeing me writhe is agony as he tortured my younger self appeared in my dreams again._

" _If you remember this when your older I'm going to assume that someone broke you out of the pathetic excuse for life you'll be having after I'm though with you._

_This. This man who called himself my father was torturing my younger self! What parent was so demented as to harm his child; I thanked whatever sadist god out there existed that this dream was lucid. _

_However as I tried to leave that room behind I wondered why that man labeled himself as my dad, my father was just an ordinary real estate agent that unfortunately was killed off by a bout with cancer. Right? Now was not the time to begin to second-guess myself, my thoughts were cut off as I heard myself scream again as to his ministrations. How could I have forgotten this?_

_Screams wrenched the air, snapping me out of my thoughtful stupor. Trying to ignore the cries of pain streaming from my younger self I slowly faded from my suffering inner mind._

***Reality***

Slowly opening my eyes tried to control my breathing as I focused on the ceiling above me.

"… Dreams, they really like to mess with your head no? I haven't had a dream like that since I first saw Law here on B.C." Thinking messes with you mind too.

Getting up and preparing for school was hell, after that dream I doubt

I got even four hours of sleep. Law was waiting outside for me to hurry up and get my butt out there so we wouldn't be late for school.

" Good morning Aria-ya, you look a little troubled what happened? You know, he may be a sadistic, bloodthirsty monster in the eyes of the Marines, but he was actually a really nice guy; if you didn't piss him off.

" Morning Law … just a dream… I know the guy appearing in them has something to do with why I can't remember meeting you and everything about the _world _we live in."

I started to explain what was had happened in my nightmare, during my explanation Law's face darkened as he heard about the madman who decided torturing me was fun.

His response was dark and filled with the promise of pain. " The bastard who decided to brainwash you… we'll find him, and I'll find out what's going on in his insignificant little brain, _piece_ by _piece_.

This was the side of Law I never really saw all that often, even though he was my friend he would occasionally turn to this dark persona of himself; it seemed that now after we had been separated he had embraced this side of him.

" Ne Law, if your going to do that could you at least wait until _I'm_ done with him?" Before I had left he had definitely rubbed off onto me.

" I can't promise Aria, whoever gets there first gets to torment him."

*The Last Day of School*

This was it, after this we would be free to explore the seas. The day had started off pretty quiet, but as I wandered around the school before the dance I noticed that many of the female population were giving me hateful glances, well that wasn't really strange, but you think they'd be more discreet.

Making my way to the huge gymnasium and the raised stage above it I dumped my bags near the doors and then jogging towards the group of student helping with last minute decorations. After calling out a brief greeting, I grabbed a couple of dark cobalt streamers to attach to the ceiling. The rest of the day was mostly spent like this, dashing from place to place getting ready for the main event that was taking place in the evening. After a stressful four hours of prepping the entirety of North Sea high was covered in streamers of our and balloons the varying shades of the sea. Wiping my brow of a light sheen of sweat I packed my things go and grab lunch, then get ready for the party that marked our freedom.

Whistling a quiet little tune to myself I wandered into the cafeteria, peering at todays menu I blanched before grabbing a relatively safe looking spinach salad. All the tables were packed and Law was nowhere to be seen.

" _Damnit, I guess that I'll just head to the courtyard to eat then…"_

Although a courtyard was pretty awesome in a school everyone avoided it like the plague after a accident involving a leaf blower sent three freshmen to the hospital for months. Sitting down under the shade of a tree was a nice difference from the usually scrabble for seats though. Lost in thought (Trying to distract myself from the utterly _bland_ pile of leaves I was eating)I didn't notice a presence coming closer until a pair of shined black dress shoes entered my narrowed field of vision.

" Aria, you should get ready you know~ wouldn't want you to miss our graduation would we?" Law, always was able to find me even when I was across town or hiding somewhere totally out of the way. Looking up my eyes widened as I did a double take, I knew that we had grown up in the last ten year, but damn he was a nice piece of eye candy in that crisp black suit, spotless white dress shirt, and dark gold tie.

" Careful your staring Aria~ "

Oh how he loved to tease you, then and now; a retort was in order.

" You should be the careful one Law, what happens if you're jumped by your fan club?"

The funny thing was that over the six months after he had transferred to North Sea high Law had gained a group of female students who stalked him around campus. Law hated it and now that it was the end of the year he knew that they would try _something _before he left the school.

Cue his eye twitching. " I know that Aria, that's why you are going to accompany me as my date, so I don't get raped by a mob of my various class mates."

… Back up, did Law just say that he wanted to take me to the dance as a _meat shield_?! I glared at him, but was only met with his signature smirk.

" Fine _captain, _but you now owe me the mother of all favors." Throwing out the rather disgusting salad I slipped into the girls washroom to change into the dress I had bought and to touch up a bit of makeup. It was a simple black form fitting dress with one sleeve that reached to my fingertips loose and flowing like a liquid shadow. The only actually color were three streaks of crimson reminiscent of a beasts claw marks coming from the left hand bottom corner stopping about an inch above my waist. Makeup and hairstyle was just as simple, all I applied was the faintest hint of foundation and blush with lightly applied mascara; since my hair was a moderate length I had put it up in a half pony tail, nothing too extravagant.

After around forty-five minutes of prepping for the dance I emerged from the washroom a new "not really" person. I was pretty pleased with my self when I saw Law's eyes widen before he reestablished his composure, and offered his arm to me in a classic gesture of chivalry.

" Ready to be my shield from fan girls? Aria~" Chivalry really is dead in this era.

" … Sigh, you just shot that moment to shreds you know that?"

As we made our way to the gymnasium we were stopped multiple times by fan girls who demanded answers as to why I was with Law as a "date". Quickly explaining that because he didn't know any one here very well and that we had decided to go as friends didn't really do anything to quell their jealousy.

The inside of the gym was transformed from the titanic empty space to the picture of a undersea ballroom, a plush navy blue carpet was spread across the floor, and tables set with varieties of roses and wisteria flowers. Somehow we had ended up at a table of four with another couple who were unlike us, a lovey dovey couple that had eyes only for each other. Leaving us to awkwardly wait for they speeches and performances to begin.

" _Wait… oh crap I'm supposed to be performing in the lion dance troupe!" _ checking the schedule for performances I nearly jumped out of my seat to change into my costume, we were performing right after the opening speech. As I dashed into the performers change rooms my teammates gave me exasperated glances.

" Hey, Aria remember to keep your head in the game~ we wouldn't want you embarrass yourself in front of your _friend_."

" Oh shut up." As lion dancers, we were all assigned a position, front or rear; the front of the lion leads the rear and tries to act as realistic as a lion as possible, the rear of the lion follow the front and need to make it seem like they are only one creature also providing support for the front. I was a head, meaning I had to lead my partner through the routine.

Making our way to the middle of the gym where a flat stage/dancing are was set-up a heavy drumbeat was struck up to help guide our movements. Taking our positions we feigned sleep before "awakening" and starting to sniff around, our steps measured and graceful I shook the "head" of the lion to signal that we were beginning routine. A step forwards. Crouch. Swing head around. The routine was a whirl of fabric and limbs, flowing from one form to another, leaping over each other to provide a mind-boggling performance ending with me standing atop my partner's shoulders with a scroll reading " Future Fortunes" between the teeth of the beast we were parading as.

As we stripped out costumes I managed to take a look in one of the mirrors on the wall, I was a mess after that performance. Another forty-five minutes later I slipped back into my seat across from Law, who had a mixed expression of relief and smugness on his face.

" That was a wonderful performance Aria. One thing though, you could have gotten here earlier ten minutes ago some girls were trying to drag me off to their tables." I almost felt bad for Law, almost.

As the day carried into the night the performances ended and songs began to play for the couples that had made their ways to the dance floor. Both Law and I were uninterested, satisfied with letting the actual couples dance as we indulged in small talk about the going ons of this town, that is until an announcement came on.

" Alright people are we having a good time?! Now then to get you all in the partying mood we're going to have a couple games and a selective dance! The games speak for themselves, but the dance is a little trickier; we're going to randomly choose three tables, those three tables are going to have to get off their butts and dance! Good luck and have fun!"

Don't you hate those people who come up with ideas like this? Our table, because we weren't participating was soon picked out from the dozens around us. I had seriously considered the idea of just bailing, Law on the other hand was faced with either dancing with me, or dancing with a rabid fan girl; easy decision. Law had practically dragged me over to the stage, keeping his hand on my waist he grinned before calling up a past memory.

**-Flashback-**

After a day of lazing around and reading random books something had caught my eye, turning towards Law who was reading a novel about a detective.

" _Hey Law, can you dance?" Law just peered over the top of his book and deadpanned as well as a seven year old could._

" _No, now c'mon we have to go and check up on Bepo." _

_Off we went the subject forgotten, as we lost ourselves in the vast world as only children could._

**-End Flashback-**

Dancing with Law was actually pretty fun, with his natural grace we didn't end up falling flat on our faces like I expected. After the song ended we made our way back to our table to just relax and wait for the evening to draw to a close. However we had to end the night in a celebratory fashion, it was marking our journey to the seas after all.

_I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined_

_I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned_

_Staring at the blank page before you_

_Open up a dirty window_

_Let the sun illuminate the words you could not find…(1)_

" Aria, how about a final farewell to this little island?" Law, Trafalgar Law actually wanted to dance to say farewell? Without missing a beat he dragged me over to the dance floor and began to move to the beat, I followed albeit more reluctantly. Soon the night drew to a close, everyone saying their goodbyes to their classmates and friends. Walking back home was quite uneventful, the moon cutting through the thin layers of cloud above.

" You should get some sleep Aria, I contacted Bepo to come pick us up from the inlet I scouted out along the south coast of the island." He doesn't waste any time now does he?

" Sure… when do we leave?" I hoped it wasn't ridiculously early, right now it was twelve thirty am in the morning…

" At six, if you don't wake up then I'll just drag you out of the house." What would I do without such a thoughtful friend?

Resigned I opened the door to my home and flopped into bed after taking a quick shower and brushing my teeth. I fell into a fitful, dreamless slumber.

Later in the morning a slight summer breeze wafted through the city, no one noticed two teenagers briskly walking towards the desolate southern cast of the island. As we neared the beach, we were greeted by a small schooner; half hidden by the shadows thrown by the steep rock cliffs surrounding the inlet.

"Aria!" Looking up I nearly tripped as I saw a huge white polar bear in a orange jumpsuit waving to me from the main deck of the ship. Breaking into a run, I vaulted the onto the deck using the ridges of the ship to gain enough lift to make it to the deck. Not stopping I glomped Bepo, nuzzling my face into his fur.

"Bepo, you've gotten so big! I can't believe how much you've grown!"

Bepo practically purred as I started to rub him between his ears. Now we were getting off track though, quickly stowing our baggage below decks we prepared to set sail. Later that day we had lugged a barrel onto the deck and hoisted a foot on top.

" To be the king of the pirates." Law went first, as a captain should.

" To become a great martial artist!" Seemed like Bepo had a hobby now.

" To develop my own tanto style!" I did take weapons training after all, and I most likely will need to fight in the future.

" To reach the end of the grand line!" Our voices melded together and cried out proof that we would sail to the ends of the earth to complete our goals.

To the grand line, our adventure had just begun.

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**(1) Song Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield.**

**Hope that was a good chapter! Things are starting to get more interesting as the crew leave for the seas. I needed Aria to be able to fight so I used her weapons training as a loose term to incorporate the tanto as her weapons of choice.**

**Please review and look forward to the next chapter! Ciao~**

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	4. Two birds join our flock

**A/N: Ciaossu! Hi again, I'm back~**

**Shambles: Disclaimer time!**

**Penguin: You included me this chapter!**

**Shambles: Of course I did, we need more members to Law's crew~ Now then disclaimer?**

**Penguin: This is the second time! Oh well... Shambles does not own One piece or the characters mentioned in this fanfiction.**

**Law: (from somewhere farther away) Penguin! Get over here!**

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"Your kidding…Right?" Thoughts or whispers

"Your kidding…Right?" Speech

Aria's P.o.v

The gentle rhythm of waves lapping against the hull of our ship, warm rays of mid-summer sun beat down upon the calm cerulean sea, a cry of a sea faring bird the only disruption to the calm serenity of the daybreak air. We've been sailing for five days now, all was as well as it could be on a pirate ship heading for the perilous waters of the grand line; of course before that we needed an actual crew. Which is why we were sailing to Ferro Island, a place in the North blue famous for it's high quality metal crafts and expert mechanics. If we were to survive out on the grand line we would need a diverse and skilled crew, right now only a few positions were filled; Law of course was our captain as well as ships doctor, Bepo was our navigator; surprisingly he had picked up navigation with enthusiasm a few years ago, and that left poor me to cook for my (idiots) friends until we could find a real cook.

Our ship was a simple little schooner that we would more than likely replace before reaching the grand line, Law even commenting that it "Wasn't worthy of the Heart Pirates crest", speaking of the crest, Law had decided to mock DoFlamingo by using the smiley-style of jolly roger except instead of adding a cancel line slashing it's face, we added what looked like six spokes on the outside and attaching a line segment to the spokes; the finished product looked like it had a second segmented circle around the first which contained the smiley, quite charming, no?

It wasn't until late into the evening that Ferro was visible from the crow nest, but by then we had decided to dock the next morning; on the other side of the island of course although we didn't have our jolly roger up yet we wanted to stay as unnoticed as possible before finding an appropriate crew.

"Aria, you should turn in soon we're going to leave for the town early in the morning." Law is really critical about our health, being a doctor and all. Knowing that arguing with him was hopeless I disappeared into the hull of the ship, making my way down the sleeping quarters. After a short warm shower I slipped onto the hammock that I set up instead of one of the small cabin beds that were there when Law and Bepo had first gotten the ship.

After I laid down on the shifting fabric, I realized just how tired I really was; sleep had no trouble claiming me that night.

"Aria, wake up!" Something disturbed my sleep. I groaned, slowly opening my eyes only to be greeted by the sight of bright, neon orange.

" I'm up, I'm up. Is it time to head out already Bepo?" Guess Law was already up and about if he sent Bepo to wake me up. Sighing I slid off the hammock to prepare for the day ahead.

" Damn it, I'm going to need weapons if I'm to be of use in fights and stuff, I'll see if we can make a quick detour at a weapons shop…"

Dressing my self in customary T-shirt, jean, and black sweater around my waist I trudged up the stairs onto the deck where Law was waiting dressed in a plain black sweater and … were those spotted jeans… with an enormous nodachi propped against his shoulder.

"…Law when did you get the sword?" My question was well founded! I didn't even know that Law could use a weapon, not to mention use it; well sure I knew that he had to fight and defend himself during the ten years we were apart but…

" Around the same time I acquired my devil fruit powers, four years ago. I thought you would have noticed Aria~" My he was in a good mood this morning. Wait, did he say devil fruit powers? _"Looking back to when I first got nightmares, I never found out HOW Law got into my room in the first place…"_

" You ate a DEVIL FRUIT! Law what the hell were you thinking, now you're a pirate who's a HAMMER in the water!" After we had boarded our temporary vessel, Law had given me a quick background story on devil fruits, the abilities and effects varied, but one thing was consistent; if you consumed a devil fruit you would gain a superhuman ability exchanged with being able to swim. In the life of a pirate, surrounded by water, this could be a fatal weakness.

" Calm down Aria, the abilities I gained by eating the devil fruit was well worth not being able to swim, who knows you might come across one as well. Now let's get moving, we've spent enough time on the ship already."

"… Aye captain." After sufficiently camouflaging the ship we set out for the largest of Ferro's cities: Ferrum, a little disappointing that it didn't look as impressive as we thought it would, simple cobblestone roads, red brick buildings, and numerous people going about on daily business. All in all a pretty average town in the North Blue; that is until we spotted a pair of marines on patrol. Casually maneuvering through the throng of people until we were a mere three feet away, we were able to pick out parts of a rather interesting conversation about a certain project put in motion by the marines.

" Submarine…can … through … calm belts" A muttered sentence was what first caught our attention.

"… Safer for … devil fruit users to … travel seas…" Law's eyes immediately gained an interested gleam.

Although these marines were probably rookies, judging from the way the just blabbed sensitive information out in the public and didn't put much thought into what came out of their mouths; they practically just planted the idea of stealing the submarine into our captains head. After quietly slipping away from the main streets we sat down in a cozy little corner side café, after ordering our drinks (black coffee for Law, one cream for me, and a mint tea for Bepo.) we began to discuss the valuable information we had just overheard.

" The two of you, I think we just found our ship." Law _really_ didn't like out current schooner, he wanted a ship superior to the conventional pirate vessel; I think we had just found it.

" But Captain! The sub ought to be under a lot of marine protection if it's that valuable!" I replied with fervor, we were only three in number and haven't even established ourselves as a crew yet, if we were to pull this off we would need more men, or a little inside help.

" I know that Aria, however I think that with a little _persuasion_ we could have a couple more hands working with us…" With that rather disturbing sentence, Law had stood up and left some berri on the table as payment.

Bepo spoke up for the first time since we had sat down at the café. " Captain, where are we going now?"

" Shopping, we need new weapons."

With that we found ourselves in a out of the way weapons shop, a small building low to the ground and reeking of the black market. On the inside of the decrepit looking excuse for a shop was bladed and ranged weapons placed haphazardly on makeshift wooden shelves. The only other customer was a blond male around our age in oil stained coveralls shifting through a pile of small flintlock pistols, we didn't really pay him mind. What we (I) were really interested in was a selection of tanto of varying sizes, all in better condition compared to the rest of the store, the shop owner; a pudgy middle-aged man who's eyes gleamed of various ways to scam unsuspecting customers came behind me.

"What's a young lady like you looking for a weapon?" The voice of the man was like oil, slippery and grungy. I just ignored him while shifting a short blade out of the way. Out of the corner of my eye I caught his gaze turn unfriendly and drop the pretense of kindness.

Browsing through the various pieces of junk and the occasional decent blade, a dull burgundy shine caught my eye, uncovering the sheath I gave it a quick appraisal; noting that it was made of plain unassuming maple wood. The blade itself was a plain kokuto with a light grey yahazu hamon; this blade was although nothing fancy to look at beautiful in its simplicity.

" Shopkeeper! How much for the this tanto?" I know it was a little foolish to buy a weapon so quickly; especially in a less than trustworthy store, but this blade seemed worth it.

" Humph, that piece of crap? I'll sell it to you for twelve thousand berri." The fool was selling a top quality tanto for a measly twelve thousand berri; a blade like this could sell for at least five times as much as the price he was offering now.

" Oh well, not like I'm going to tell him the worth of this blade." My inner mind remarked, pleased at this turn of events.

" Sold. What's the name of the blade?" After handing over the sum of berri he gave me a quick mumble as he counted up his fee, almost making me miss my new weapon's name.

" Kokutan." Ebony. A simple gracef-

" Aria, are you done drooling over the tanto yet? You still need to buy another." Law, you love to ruin my moments. He was right though; I still needed to buy another if I wanted to properly fight. The sleazy shopkeeper's eyes practically turned into berri signs. " Great, now the bastard thinks he can make easy cash out of us."

Sighing, I turned back to the dwindling pile of blades and searched though them for a partner to Kokutan, I personally was about to give up when I felt a tap on my shoulder looking behind me I saw Law gesturing to come over and take a look at something he had found.

" Hey Aria-ya. I think this might be what you're looking for, you should buy the tanto and get in some training with them as soon as you can." Well… he was awfully confident that the tanto he found was the right weapon for me; and impatient. Deciding to give it a chance I took it from his hands and inspected its silver blade. It was simple, like Kokutan and in my mind as good as any other match to it. After a bit of haggling we paid another ten thousand berri and then obtained my second tantos name; Gekko, or Moonlight. Its blade was burnished silver with a near pure white mimi-gata hamon. Taking the two I began to compare the different blades. Both were of a similar length and weight, the differences being that the steels color and the cutting edges. Gekko had a slightly rounded cutting edge whereas Kokutan had a sharp forty-five degree angle edge. The two were perfect.

After buying a pair of holsters, I strapped them on to about mid-thigh, making it easier to draw and sheath the blades at a moments notice. Law looked, well bored. I guess he didn't really find anything of interest; Bepo had left and was currently wandering around a map emporium, checking if there was any new navigational equipment we would need.

" We need new clothes." That blunt statement brought me out of admiring my new weapons. I gaped at Law since, really? He was thinking that we needed new clothes. That was something new, although he was right. We hadn't really packed much and needed to replace some of our belongings.

After collecting Bepo, whose arms were filled with various mapping materials we headed over to a few boutiques that carried more durable wear. Entering the shop we were immediately greeted by a bubbly store employee.

" Hi! My name's Maddie, how are you folks? Looking for something new and creative? We have lots of different styles here to fit any person! If you want we can do tailored designs, just look for a plain piece of clothing and we can do it for you! If you need help just holler!" Well, she was peppy.

Law looked mildly amused while I was face palming at the rapid fire of information. After getting the … thrilled worker to calm down a tad, we started to take a look at the clothes they offered. Most of the articles were either too colorful or just plain weird, really who wears a lime green and neon purple striped pants? After looking through more t-shirts and sweaters we could count we finally managed to uncover some clothes we liked and weren't too flashy. For Law, he picked out a baggy yellow sweater with black sleeves and faded jeans that had…? Spots? On them. Taking the sweater to the counter he had our jolly roger stitched large on the front. I picked out a dark red hoodie and black t-shirt with crimson fading diagonally from the right up into the black. As we were about to pay a simple black fedora caught my eye, sitting nearly buried underneath other flashier hats, to add a little personal touch to the hat I had a yellow band of cloth wound around the base and our jolly roger stitched in red onto it's side. After plopping the fedora on my head and dragging our bags back to the ship I felt half dead.

" Urgh! We finally managed to finish getting clothes." I voiced out to Law and Bepo.

" What now captain?" Bepo asked Law.

" Simple Bepo, Aria and I will do a little prying to get some information on the submarine starting tomorrow; maybe we'll get a little help while we're at it." It seemed like Law was impatient to have the sub in our possession." However, I do have to agree with him, we should get the sub as soon as possible; a new crew member or two would also be great…"

After buying some groceries and making a simple dinner we decided to retire a little earlier than usual so we could get up early and begin the next day well rested. After saying good night to Law and Bepo I slunk into my room, beat from all the shopping we did earlier. " Man, a hot shower is definitely in order…"

After washing up and getting ready for bed I flopped on the slowly swinging hammock and fell asleep like a candle that blown out.

**-Dreamscape-**

_Running. Running along a dark path with only a faint light ahead to give hope to my younger self. Nearly reaching the end until I'm yanked back by the back of my shirt._

_" Where do you think you're going? ~" Oh Rogers, the insane man's back._

_" You know after I'm done with you, you won't remember anything at all. You'll live a nice peaceful life where nothing will go wrong, isn't that what you want?" I wanted to scream, to kick him, ANYTHING to get this creep away from me. Of course as he dragged me back to wherever I "escaped" from he blabbed on about the miracles of tranquilizers._

_" You know Aria-chan, if you ever remember this than I bet you'll have broken free of that fake life of yours, with these experiment we planted false memories in your brain to see if we could do the same with new recruits; think of it! A army of mindless slaves, all loyal to a single man!" His voice had progressively grown more and more shrill as he fantasized the possibilities of his research. I was doing my best to get away until he pulled a needle out of his coat pocket and jabbed it into my shoulder._

_" Nightly night, we can't have you putting up to much of a struggle can we, since you've known that Law boy for so long we can't make you forget, so how' bout we make him a character instead~"_

_Character? I guess this is why Law was an anime character, but now I don't remember any of that…_

_" You should sleep Aria, you have a big day tomorrow, we have lot's of new toys to play with~" Screaming didn't do me any good, but I still cried out until I was ho-_

_Aria, wake up. Wake up! WAKE UP!_

**-Reality-**

" Wake up Aria, we need to take a look around the island for signs of marine activity today." Thank Rogers that Law decided to wake me up; I could still feel the man's hands on my shoulder as he forced the needle further into my flesh. Law must have noticed me freaking out on the inside because he told me we had ten minutes to get ready before we snooped around town.

**-Around ten min later-**

After tightening the knot holding my sweater to my waist I jogged up the stairway to the main deck where Law was waiting.

" Captain, where's Bepo?" usually Bepo would at least see us off if we went anywhere without him.

" Bepo's out in one of the dinghies mapping the island, he's also keeping my nodachi safe."

Then he turned around and started to casually walk towards town, I had to jog towards him to keep up.

"Bepo's out at sea with Law's weapon… doesn't that leave him defenseless?"

Law's nodachi is one of his greatest assets along with his devil fruit; I have a right to be slightly (very) concerned if he isn't bringing it with him. That is until Law throws a comment over his shoulder.

" Don't worry Aria-ya, I have plenty of scalpels on my persons, we're not going in unprepared"

Right. Law had showed me his "expertise" on a small island filled with wild game, and had used one of the hares we had killed as a way to explain anatomy to me; needless to say he knew a lot more than the average doctor.

As I was thinking this I didn't notice that we were nearing town. We wandered the markets and bars, and spent half the day tailing marine patrols and asking around the shadier parts of the city, during that time we gained a better understanding of the relationship of the citizens and the marines; to sum it up the marines were hated. It happened two years ago when the world government had ordered marines to start research on a new type of seafaring vessel; the submarine. They had chosen this town because of its reputation and were using the mechanics to complete the project. Now the first prototype submarine was nearing completion and the world government wasn't about to stop with just one, most likely going to use the island as a manufacturing plant for decades.

Taking a break, we headed into a tavern for a late lunch. We (I) were little discouraged that we hadn't been able to find out any critical information. That was about to change. After ordering our food I picked up a piece of conversation that seemed rather interesting.

" I'm sick of those damn marines ordering us around!" A masculine voice; maybe it was one of the mechanics?

" Sheesh onii-san you know that the marines are just jerks who use us like slaves, if you're so sick of it why don't we rebel? A feminine voice now, since she had used "onii-san" she must be the guy's sister.

Looking at Law I slightly tilted my head toward the voices, suggesting that we confront the pair about the marines.

" Not yet Aria, we'll get to them some where a bit more private or our discussion." Law's voice more like a breeze than actual words. After quickly finishing our meal we placed some berri on the counter as payment. Now with a goal we were tailing the duo, after following at a safe distance away the two abruptly turned into a smaller back alley before turning to face the both of us.

" Hey the two of you! What's up with the stalking us?" The female questioned, no more like demanded.

It looked like the guy wasn't going to speak up yet, but was getting ready to fight back incase we were a threat. Jabbing my captain none too lightly in the ribs I tried to get him to diffuse the situation before things got out of hand.

" Calm down, we merely wanted to inquire about the goings on about this "special project of the marines." Law looked calm, nothing like the sort of guy you would expect to stalk you and ask for information.

" The marines?" Ah, the guy finally spoke! He wasn't finished yet though.

" Are you friends with the government dogs? Depends on which team you're playing for." This guy was cautious. " A good trait for a pirate…"

I was a little offended that he would think we were nakama with the damn government. "Oi, buddy we don't "play" for anyone, we work for our own goals."

" Really? What do the two of you want with us? Id you guys want information then why us, we aren't the head of the project; why two nobodies?" The girl had a point; we didn't know their level of involvement and might be wasting our time here.

This time the man spoke again. "What's in it for the two of us if we decide to help you? If you're not backed up by the world government then what can you offer us? Law and I exchanged glances, we had planned on a response to this; hopefully they would react the way we had anticipated.

" What about freedom? We plan on sailing the five seas, doing as we please and fulfilling our own agenda." Law's response was simple; nothing would deter us from the path that lay ahead. This seemed to catch their attention.

Over the course of the week the four of us would meet at various cafés and taverns, slowly the two of them started to warm up to us, instead of just giving us information we began to just talk about whatever was our interests; I found a fellow girl to talk to while Law had another guy to talk to about whatever male stuff guys do. We never managed to get their names though, throughout the week they never said either of their names; they preferred to call each other "onii-san" and " imouto", big brother and little sister; so we at least knew that the were siblings. When I asked why they wouldn't ]tell us their names the older brother would only reply.

" If we take you guys up in your offer we'll tell you our names, for now we haven't decided yet."

Time was running out though, they had managed to find out the guard rotations that protected the sub and we couldn't really stay that much longer on Ferro for much longer until marines discovered us. We had invited them onto our ship to introduce them to Bepo, and hopefully convince them to join us, by now Law felt that the two would be vital members of the Heart Pirates.

We would strike later into mid-morning the next day, most people would be expecting an attack early in the morning and be alert; if we attacked later on they would be tired and have their guard down. We spent the rest of the day preparing to infiltrate the marine base, sharpening weapons and going over the plan over and over again.

The next morning, as we were about to leave the ship in the reliable paws of Bepo we were stopped by a voice calling out to us from the shore. There by the receding tide stood the two people we had hoped would become the first additions of our crew.

" You can't just go and storm into a marine base with out some inside help, so we're going to come along with you guys."

Tilting his head up to face us he gave us a grin.

" By the way, the name's Penguin."

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**Dictionary! There's a couple terms you might not recognize in this chappie, so if you don't know what they mean take a look below!**

**Kokuto: Means "black blade" It's a term to describe any blade that is black in coloration.**

**Hamon: The hamon is the area where transitioning of the hard steel edge of a blade, and the soft steel spine take place; also called the blades pattern.**

******Yahuza: **A yahuza hamon means a "dovetail" blade pattern, the two steels forming a pattern a like a carpenter's dovetail used on shelves and such.  


**Mimi-gata: Is another type of hamon, it looks a little like billowing clouds.**

**Also just in case you don't know (I bet you do) "nakama" means comrades, or friends.**

**YAYS! the dictionary is over, now then I hope you enjoyed this chapter of YKR and review if you do, or don't... The next chappie will have Law, Aria, Penguin, and his sister (who I shall introduce later) get their sub! After that they'll go and collect other various members of the Heart Pirates.**

**- Ja na,**

** Shambles**

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